Exclusive: The Portable Door star Sam Neill says he 'couldn't be happier' as he throws himself into work following cancer diagnosis

Legendary New Zealand actor Sam Neill has revealed he "couldn't be happier" with his life now after returning to work following his stage-three blood cancer diagnosis.

The 75-year-old revealed he was diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, last year in his new memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?

He's been in remission for eight months.

Stream The Portable Door from April 7, only on Stan.

In an exclusive interview with 9Entertainment ahead of the release of the new Stan Original Film The Portable Door, Neill touched on his diagnosis and why returning to work has been such an important process in his recovery.

"Work is what I do best," he said in the interview earlier this month. "I'm not really very good at not working, that's the truth of it.

"I've always thought of myself as a very lazy person, and then when I was told I had to be lazy, it was unbearable.

"That's why I wrote my book, just to pretend to be busy. The book was a kind of life-saver in way. Now I'm back at work and I couldn't be happier."

Neill received an outpouring of support from fans across the world when he revealed his health diagnosis, something he never expected.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the Stan Original Movie The Portable Door

"It's been very touching and very surprising to get so much warmth and loveliness from all over the place," he continued.

"I wasn't expecting it at all, but it's been kind of overwhelming. It's been lovely."

Neill posted an Instagram video following his health diagnosis, assuring his fans he was doing fine.

"Hi I'm Sam Neill, actor of sorts, vintner, and an author as it happens," he began. "I am alive and well and I have been in remission for eight months, which feels really good. And I'm alive and kicking and I'm going to work.

"I'm very happy to be going back to work. We start filming in seven days time. I'm doing a thing called Apples Never Fall with Annette Bening, and a really wonderful cast. So here I am."

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Neill underwent chemotherapy following his diagnosis, but when it started to fail, he began taking a new chemotherapy drug that he will continue to take monthly for the rest of his life. He is currently cancer-free.

Fans will soon get to see the actor in his latest role The Portable Door, which will premiere on April 7, the same day as the UK and US, and only on Stan.

Adapted from Tom Holt's seven-book fantasy series, the film is directed by award-winning Australian director Jeffrey Walker and features a star-studded cast. You can watch the trailer of the new movie in the video at the top of this article.

The story follows a young Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) and his colleague Sophie Pettingel (Sophie Wilde), who both intern at quite a whimsical London firm called J.W. Wells & Co.

Their job is to create and manage coincidences, and as the film progresses the pair become steadily aware that their employers are anything but conventional.

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Charismatic villains Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz), the CEO of the company, and middle manager Dennis Tanner (Neill), are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices. Soon enough, Paul and Sophie discover the true agenda of the vast corporation where they work.

Miranda Otto, known for her role as Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings franchise, and Chris Pang, who had a role in popular film Crazy Rich Asians, also feature in this new Stan original movie.

The Portable Door will premiere on April 7, the same day as the UK and US, and only on Stan.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.